One week in Lithuania

Written Thursday 24.5.2012

I'm currently in Alytus, Lithuania, staying with my friend Maria and her 3 girls, Janet, Sharona and Sade. Her husband is away on business for 3 weeks so I took the opportunity to keep her company, help out in the garden, house, with the kids and generally support in anyway necessary. Getting 2 girls ready for primary school and the youngest ready for kindergarden in time for a 7.30am set off is no mean feat and an extra pair of hands to braid hair or wipe a jammy face is much appreciated!

Lithuania is really a land of contrasts. This is my 3rd visit but my first in the springtime, so I am enjoying the lovely warm weather. So far it's been sunny and 27°C, a welcome change to the snow and -20°C of my last visit.

Having been annexed into Soviet Russia and oppressed under communism the land is now starting to develop and bloom in it's freedom. However the contrasts are quite extreme at times. Most people live in small flats or, whenever possible, a house with an allotment sized garden. The quality of the building is alot lower than in Germany, yet their gardens are a wonder to behold. In a tiny house there is not alot that can be done, plus building materials are very expensive, but with a few seeds, hard work and a bit of patience something beautiful can be created. Sunday evening Maria and I walked over to one of her neighbours and, as a new guest, I was proudly shown around the garden, every plant and flower, the tiniest of water features and the all the different vegetables and salad were pointed out to me. So there I am nodding and making appreciative noises when in reality I haven't the faintest idea what the different plants were and can hardly tell a dandelion from a dahlia. My only attempt at "productive gardening" at our cottage in Scotland turned into a water logged disaster of rotting potatoes that was soon reclaimed by weeds and brambles.

Yesterday we treated ourselves at the hairdressers, I had a cut and styling, eyebrow shaping, colouring and eyelash tint which all together cost a whooping great 8€, yet later in the day fueling up the car cost 70€. Diesel is only a tad cheaper than at home, at 1.39€ per litre. When the average wage for a semi-skilled worker (eg car mechanic or hairdresser) is 350 - 400€ pm yet food is only 10% cheaper than Germany, I can not begin to imagine how they manage.

Food shopping is an experience here, Tuesday we went to the local market to buy vegetables and flowers. Now I'd been to a couple of different supermarkets, one in particular is like a Tesco Extra (for my U.S. friends - an up-market Walmart), clean and shiny with shelves full of everything you could possibly want or imagine but the market is something completely different. Simple wooden tables with covers for the rain, some are full to bursting with lovely healthy looking vegetables, just like you would imagine, on others a lonely old Grandma sits there with a few bunches of radishes or 20 eggs in the hope of supplementing her meagre pension. Although everyone was happy to talk to us not everyone allowed me to take photographs. They wanted to know what I would do with them, perhaps I would give them to the police! They are still very suspicious even after all these years.
  

Out of the back of a van little chicks and duckling were being sold. I was allowed to hold one, so cute! Matt will be pleased to know I won't be bringing any home in my suitcase. 

The flower market was just row upon row of colour. We picked out 4 bags full of summer flowering plants for just 12€ which was my belated birthday present for Maria and we have now planted up all her window boxes and pots and they promise to be a riot of colour over the summer months. 

So that's my week of being able to help out a friend, however through certain conversations and one particular new contact I have a feeling I will be the one who will benefit most from this week.

Aschaffenburg Citylauf 7.9km 11.5.2012